Knotted Threads
by DwarfRunner
Summary: I just wondered if perhaps, post-threads, there was a little more that went on behind-the-scenes. Go back and watch Moebius I, the briefing... This is mostly a friendship, but ends with strong S/J implications. Thanks for reading! Love, DR
**Disclaimer :** I don't own Stargate SG1, although I do have a new life goal of being Samantha Carter if ever there is a reboot haha But seriously. Although, I hope everyone is okay with Carter only being 5'2"... instead of 5'9" or whatever that goddess' height is. And being dark-haired...

 **A/N:** I was watching SG1 again the other day (I really need to get a life...) anyway I noticed a little moment in Moebius I... and perHAPS my earlier assumption of exactly when Jack and Sam really began to start up their 'relationship' may have been incorrect!

SG1! You're killing me and you've been off the air for like, a decade. Anyway, I had some inspiration and here it is. And don't worry, my faithful followers, I will have more Virus 2 point 0 for you soon! This is just a short one-shot connecting Threads to Moebius I.  
Love,  
DR

PS. I have the Piano Guys radio on while I'm writing and I gotta say, Guardians at the Gate by Audiomachine just came on and it is absolutely perfect.

PPS. Back to Gate World, I actually thought Pete was an okay guy, even though I hated his freaking guts. SAM AND JACK FOREVER.

PPPS. Time travel screws with my head... I guess this is sort of an alternate, alternate but kinda fits with my Fish in the Pond series as well. Because they traveled back in time... in the new future they may have never had this encounter... so it all works anyway. This is more based off of Threads, whereas Fish in the Pond is based more on Moebius II.  
As the great Doctor would say of space and time, "Physics! Physics! Physics! Physics! Physics!"

 **xoxoxo**

" _I wish I could believe this had something to do with your father - you needed some time to just work things out. I guess all I can say is: I hope you get what you want," Pete said softly. Sam could see that he struggled against tears welling in his eyes._

' _That's it?" Sam asked, not even certain what she wanted._

" _What do you want? You want me to get down on my knees and beg?" He demanded, suddenly frustrated._

" _God, no! Of course not! I just ... I thought you would react differently," she finished quietly. She glanced up at him to see the tears really coming now._

" _Goodbye, Sam," Pete choked out, standing and walking away._

" _Pete..." Sam whispered as he paused by the realtor sign and took down the "sold" placard. Sam winced as she heard the velcro tear from itself._

What did she want? So many people had been hinting at it for so long; hell, even her subconscious had tried to tell her what she wanted. But had she actually heard what it said? She had thought that moving on with Pete would have been the right move, what she really needed... But as the date drew closer and closer... She might have blamed it on her own propensity for self-sabotage, but it just felt so wrong. From almost the first moment they had met, Sam Carter had been intrigued by the then Colonel Jack O'Neill. At first she had mainly wanted to impress him... when had it started to become friendship? When he had teased her about that tank top she had worn while under the influence of the broca divide virus? Or when he and the others had saved her from Moughal's enemies from the Shavodai and hadn't really given her any crap about being kidnapped? She had tried so hard to "be one of the guys", for so long with them.

But it had taken her forever to realize that the colonel just expected her to do her work as an officer, and even as a scientist; and he respected her for who she was, even if he had had a problem with scientists. The shift had probably really been after Jolinar had taken her over as a host for those few days. She had seen his face from the other side of the bars: sadness, horror. Yes, that was truly when they began to go beyond just teammates and more, friends. When had they fallen in love? It had been so gradual: he had stopped using her first name, even when they were off duty. The casual flirting had just filtered in during their everyday interactions. The time the alien artifact had punctured his shoulder and pinned him to the gateroom wall and she had taken his hand. And then he had inexplicably trusted her to whatever was necessary. That moment when he had squeezed her hand and he had been so weak...

Sam suddenly shook herself from her musings, realizing she had been catatonically staring off into space for the last ten minutes in front of a house in which she no longer had any ownership. She called a taxi and got herself back to base; the world was about to end. Perhaps she and SG-1 could save it again... Was this the 7th time? She would have to ask Teal'c to be certain.

...

What felt like an eternity later, Sam sat with General O'Neill, Teal'c, and Bratac around the briefing room table.

" I still don't quite understand what happened," Sam said slowly. "One minute Anubis is about to push the button that ends all life in the galaxy, and the next minute he's just ... gone."

"Indeed. It is a great mystery," Teal'c put in.

"One can only assume he was vanquished by some beings. If not, why would he forfeit the weapon and his army?" Bratac added. Sam turned slightly toward the general.

"You think?" She asked him, meaning Daniel, of course. And General O'Neill had brought it up just after the self destruct had stopped itself.

" I do," the general said with a slightly surprised look on his face. Sam had to fight to keep from laughing, knowing that there was a double meaning in his words.

"It's the only thing that would explain the self destruct not going off," Sam said quickly, having already agreed with him on this point earlier.

"Of what do you speak?" Asked Bratac, looking quizzically from colonel to general.

"O'Neill believes that Daniel Jackson was somehow responsible," explained Teal'c to his former master.

"No! It wasn't me!" A disembodied voice called out. Sam froze, glancing around. Okay, she had had hallucinations in the past... she glanced at the others, all looking as startled as she felt.

"Anybody else hear that?" General O'Neill asked incredulously, quickly looking between all three of them.

Sam nodded disbelievingly.

"I'm in here!" Daniel's voice called out from somewhere in General O'Neill's office.

"That's Daniel!" He said helpfully, in case anyone else hadn't gotten it. It was how he processed. Sam thought it was adorable that he did that. The general stood and strode over to his office then abruptly jumped back.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed. Sam frowned. What...?

"No! Don't come in!" Daniel called out in horror as the general recoiled.

"Ho! Hey there!" He said as he backed out of the room even further.

"Can you get me ... something?" Daniel asked quietly.

The general looked around the Briefing Room and seemed to deliberate for a moment between the two massive flags beside his door. He spotted the S.G.C. flag on its pole and quickly ripped it off the pole and handed it to Daniel. A moment later, Daniel stepped sheepishly out of the office, wrapping the flag around his waist. He was bare chested. Naked. Under that flag, he was absolutely naked. General O'Neill fiddled awkwardly with the flag pole. Sam felt her jaw drop a little bit. They worked out together all the time of course... but he had come an awful long way since being the scrawny, bumbling geek she had first met on Abydos. Then she felt slightly embarrassed at thinking that, especially considering her earlier ponderings about the general.

"It's, uh, a long story," Daniel said softly, by way of explanation.

Sam glances at him and smiled, definitely embarrassed. Behind Daniel, Jack had turned to look at him. Daniel glances round at him and Jack looked away again. Sam didn't know what to do with herself for a minute before they were all saved by the sudden arrival of Walter. Thank God for that technician.

"Sirs, ma'am," Walter said as he came up the stairs from the control room. Then he froze, eyes almost bulging out of his head as he took in Daniel standing in General O'Neill's doorway. He gave a very good impression of a fish for a moment, then blinked and shook his head.

"Welcome back, Doctor Jackson. Sir-" he directed his gaze to the general- "I'll get medical up here right away with some BDUs." Then he disappeared, his original errand almost forgotten. Two seconds after he had started his descent to the control room, he reappeared at the top of the steps and said, "Oh, and general, the president and the IOA would like to speak with you. They're on line two. Also, we have finished preliminary diagnostics and the gate seems to be functioning within acceptable parameters." Then he vanished again.

 **...**

Sam lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, for once not really thinking of anything. She felt entirely empty. The sun had long ago set, leaving her in near-darkness. Her alarm clock glowed green, lighting up her room just the tiniest bit. Then, more light suddenly filtered through her window; she hadn't felt like getting up to close the curtains. It must be the neighbor getting home; who would be coming to see her? She continued her perusal of her ceiling, her thoughts drifting from her father, to General O'Neill and how to finally have that conversation they had locked away in that Zatarc testing room so long ago. She sighed heavily and rolled over, burying her face in a pillow. She couldn't face losing the general too if that moment had only been a friend to a friend, and nothing more; not so soon after losing her father...

 _Ding dooong!_

Sam groaned. Who could it be at this hour? She lifted her head and saw her clock again: 23:58. Whoever it was had better have a damn good reason to interrupt her. Not that she was actually doing anything. But after her day, she wanted to do nothing. Bastard. She groaned again as she heard a faint knock. Had she left a living area light on, suggesting she might be up? She peeled herself from the bed and blindly felt around on the back of her door for her robe and threw it on over her pajamas. She drug herself to her front room, surprised to find her reading lamp beside her armchair was still on. Oh.

Sam straightened her shoulders and made her way to the door and cracked it open.

"Yes..." it almost died on her lips as she saw the general. "Sir-" came out more strongly as she pulled the door all the way open. "Sir, what are you doing here? Is everything okay? Do you need me back at -"

She abruptly ceased talking as he stepped into her entryway and enveloped her in a Jack O'Neill supreme hug. No one else in the galaxy could match this, no one. Sam sighed as she relaxed, really, truly relaxed for the first time all day. He stepped completely into her house, still holding her and shut the door behind them. Sam buried her head in his shoulder and he simply stood there, holding her tightly. She didn't cry; she had pretty much cried herself out already.

"What can I do?" He asked softly, not letting go.

"This is perfect," she replied, never wanting this to end.

However, if it went on much longer, it might be considered breaking regulations. He seemed to feel her stiffen a little even as she thought that. The general pulled away and gently led her to her couch, one hand on her fuzzy robed elbow.

"Samantha," he said softly, sitting down beside her. He looked at her with that deep chocolate gaze. "I know so much has happened today, so I just want you to know that I meant what I said earlier. I will _always_ be here for you, however you want me to be."

"Always?" She asked softly. He nodded.

"Thank you," Sam whispered. She tentatively reached out and lightly took his hand with her now ring-free left hand, "Jack."

He smiled, a little bit of light brightening his eyes. "I know you said you're okay with Jacob... but, do you need help with a funeral service here? I know he wanted a cremation- he told me a few days ago."

Sam felt tears in her eyes; apparently she wasn't _entirely_ cried out yet. But these were tears of gratitude. He always knew what she needed. Jack held open his arms and she sank gratefully into him and let quiet tears trail down her face.

She must have fallen asleep at some point while crying on Jack, because the next thing she knew, gentle morning light filtered through her still-open bedroom window. She frowned a little bit, confused. Hadn't she fallen asleep on the couch? With a person...? Sam made her way out to the living room to find a note on her coffee table: _Always_ -J

Sam smiled to herself and went back to bed.

...

But she had saved that note and kept it in her jewelry box: a gift from her mother, a place she kept all her most special things. A team photograph from what must have been their third year together- Sam and Jack in the middle, laughing with their arms around each other's waists, Teal'c stood slightly off to Jack's side, a pleased expression on his face.

For him that might well have been laughing out loud. And Daniel had an arm slung around Sam's shoulders in a friendly half-hug. Cassie had taken that photo one day when they had all gone out to a park together. It had been right after they had escaped from Hathor. A smaller photo sat beside that one of her and her father from just last year when he had come to visit Mark and the kids, and her, of course. A wallet-sized photo of her mother lay beneath that. These were her most treasured photos which hardly anyone else ever saw. She had a small pearl necklace from her mother from when she had turned nine and a few other mementos from her father, Daniel, and Teal'c from the last few years. She even had a small silver necklace Cassie had given her when she had turned 35.

...

It rained the day of the funeral, but uncharacteristically, Jack didn't complain once. He was a stoic and solid presence on one side of her, Daniel on her other side and Teal'c just behind. She didn't twitch during the gun salute. She stared resolutely ahead as she was handed a folded flag. Sam bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. She had to be strong. It seemed like half the SGC had turned out for the funeral, and a few Tokra as well, dressed as regular humans of Earth.

Sam felt strangely disconnected from herself for the whole day, numbly thanking those who attended the funeral and the wake at her place. As good as his word, Jack had helped her plan everything: the cremation arrangements, the ceremonial funeral, the wake at her house. All the while never asking a thing from her. He was everywhere at once, knowing just when she needed a reprieve and just when she would be all right again. Daniel and Teal'c floated around as well, helping as much as they could. How she loved these men. She thought her heart might burst.

Suddenly, the wake was over, the guests gone, all but Jack. The other two had helped clean up and then vanished like mist. Sam stared around her house, feeling slightly shocked. Had that all really just happened?

"Samantha," Jack asked from her kitchen. She moved into her small kitchen, rarely used.

"Yes, sir?" Sam replied, habit making the formal address popout. She cringed a little. "Jack?"

"I've just left the salads on the bottom shelf," he explained, gesturing vaguely to the fridge. Jack hadn't drunk at all that day, being in uniform but mostly wanting to stay focused for her. "Can I do anything else for you?"

Sam smiled, finally coming to herself a little bit. "You've done so much already, Jack," she said quietly. She took off her dress blue jacket and hung it on a chair in her kitchen. Jack took his off as well and opened his arms once more. She moved eagerly to him and he held her tightly to himself. She breathed in the musk of him, loving it. She glanced up into his chocolate eyes, which had crinkled in a faint smile.

If this was _always_ , then she was ready for it at last.

xoxoxo

Thoughts? Reviews? Anything at all? If you made it this far, please let me know if you liked this or if you see an opportunity for some more! Sumanira, if you read this (cuz you read most everything I write), I hope it's long enough for you :) and Rebeccccca of course, who always reads everything (: thank you!


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